<h2>Name</h2>
<p>
This Surah takes its name from v. 27.
</p>
<h2>Period of Revelation</h2>
<p>
As this Surah contains the characteristics of both the Makki and the
Madani Surahs, the commentators have differed as to its period of
revelation, but in the light of its style and themes we are of the
opinion that a part of it (vv. 1-24) was sent down in the last stage
of the Makki life of the Holy Prophet a little before migration and
the rest (vv. 25-78) during the first stage of his Madani life. That
is why this Surah combines the characteristics of both the Makki and
the Madani Surahs. 
</p>
<p>
The sudden change of the style from v. 25 shows that
probably vv. 25-78 were sent down in the month of Zul-Hijjah in the
very first year after <em>Hijrah</em>. This is indicated by vv. 25-41 and
confirmed by the occasion of the revelation of vv. 39-40. It appears
that the month of Zul-Hijjah must have brought to the immigrants
nostalgic memories of their homes in Makkah and naturally they must
have thought of their Sacred City and of their Hajj congregation there,
and grieved to think that the <em>mushrik</em> Quraish had debarred them from
visiting the Sacred Mosque. Therefore, they might even have been
praying for and expecting Divine permission to wage war against those
tyrants who had expelled them from their homes and deprived them of
visiting the House of Allah and made it difficult for them to follow
the way of Islam. It was at this psychological occasion that these
verses were sent down. That is why the purpose for which <em>Masjid-al-
Haram</em> was built has been specifically mentioned. It has been made plain
that Hajj(pilgrimage) had been enjoined for the worship of One Allah.
But it is an irony that afterwards it had been dedicated to the
rituals of <em>shirk</em> and the worshipers of One Allah had been debarred
from visiting it. Therefore, permission for waging war against those
tyrants has been given to oust them from there and to establish the
righteous way of life for establishing virtue and eradicating evil.
According to Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Urwah bin Zubair, Zaid bin Aslam,
Muqatil bin Hayyan, Qatadah and other great commentators, v. 39 is the
first verse that grants the Muslims permission to wage war.
Collections of Hadith and books on the life of the Holy Prophet
confirm that after this permission actual preparations for war were
started and the first expedition was sent to the coast of the Red Sea
in Safar A.H. 2, which is known as the Expedition of Waddan or Al-
Abwa. 
</p>
<h2>Subject Matter and Theme</h2>
<p>
This Surah is addressed to: (1) The
<em>mushriks</em> of Makkah, (2) the wavering Muslims, and (3) the True
Believers. The <em>mushriks</em> have been warned in a forceful manner to this
effect: "You have obdurately and impudently persisted in your ideas of
ignorance and trusted in your deities instead of Allah, though they
possess no power at all and you have repudiated the Divine Messenger.
Now you will meet the same end as has been the doom of those like you
before. You have only harmed yourselves by rejecting Our Prophet and
by persecuting the best element of your own community; now your false
deities shall not be able to save you from the wrath of God". At the
same time, they have been admonished time and again for their creed of
<em>shirk</em>and sound arguments have been given in favour of <em>Tauhid</em> and the
Hereafter. 
</p>
<p>
The wavering Muslims, who had embraced Islam but were not
prepared to endure any hardship in its way, have been admonished to
this effect: "What is this faith of yours? On the one hand, you are
ready to believe in Allah and become His servants provided you are
given peace and prosperity but, on the other, if you meet with
afflictions and hardships in His Way, you discard your Allah and cease
to remain His servant. You should bear in mind that this wavering
attitude of yours cannot avert those misfortunes and losses which
Allah has ordained for you." 
</p>
<p>
As regards the true Believers, they have
been addressed in two ways: (1) in a general way so as to include the
common people of Arabia also, and (2) in an exclusive way: 
</p>
<OL>
<p>
<LI> The
Believers have been told that the <em>mushriks</em> of Makkah had no right to
debar them from visiting the Holy Mosque. They had no right to prevent
anyone from performing Hajj because the Holy Mosque was not their
private property. This objection was not only justified but it also
acted as an effective political weapon against the Quraish. For it
posed this question to the other clans of Arabia: Were the Quraish mere
attendants of the Holy Mosque or its owners? It implied that if they
succeeded in debarring the Muslims from Hajj without any protest from
others, they would feel encouraged in future to debar from Hajj and
Umrah the people of any other clan, who happened to have strained
relations with the Quraish. In order to emphasize this point, the
history of the construction of the Holy Mosque has been cited to show
that it was built by Prophet Abraham by the Command of Allah and he
had invited all the peoples to perform Hajj there. That is why those
coming from outside had enjoyed equal rights by the local people from
the very beginning. It has also been made clear that that House had
not been built for the rituals of <em>shirk</em> but for the worship of One
Allah. Thus it was sheer tyranny that the worship of Allah was being
forbidden there while the worship of idols enjoyed full licence. 
</p>
<p>
<LI> In order to counteract the tyranny of the Quraish, the Muslims were
allowed to fight with them. They were also given instructions to adopt
the right and just attitude as and when they acquired power to rule in
the land. Moreover, the Believers have been officially given the name
of "Muslims", saying, "You are the real heirs to Abraham and you have
been chosen to become witnesses of the Truth before mankind. Therefore
you should establish salat and pay the zakat dues in order to become the
best models of righteous life and perform Jihad for propagating the
Word of Allah." (vv. 41,77, 78.) 
</p>
</OL>
<p>
It will be worth while to keep in
view the introductions to Chapters II (Al-Baqarah) and VIII (AlAnfal).
</p>

